Dragon fruits are not the most common fruit that you see growing in people’s yards and they are not found in shops like apples and oranges.
I was never a big fan of dragon fruit but since we have been growing our own I can’t eat enough of them. We have mainly reds and besides the amazing flavours they are really nutritious.
I saw the idea of growing them in pots on YouTube some time ago and just loved the funky look.
We have ten on posts like this and all are continuing to thicken up and have now becoming quite productive.
For those who are space challenged or who may need to move in the future, growing in large pots is a practical option.
Dragon fruit are a member of the cactus family and don’t need heaps of watering but anything grown in pots tends to dry out quicker.
Being a tropical fruit they need a bit of care to get them through their first winter.
We fertilise them in April and October with those in pots receiving either organic chicken manure pellets or blood and bone while those out in the orchards receive our home made compost.
We always ensure we keep a good layer of woodchip around the base of the plants to help retain the moisture.
Their flowers are quite large and extremely attractive but only last about 24 hours.
Dragon fruit flowers open during the night with moths and bats being the main pollinators.
On some, the flowers remain open during early to mid-morning hours and they always attract masses of bees here at Tullamore farm.
Like most fruit trees they respond well to pruning and we prune ours in May or June each year.
This encourages them to throw out more downward hanging tendrils.
We also grow Dragon fruit up two metre posts in the traditional manner.
I never tire of walking past them and in particular when they flower or have fruit.
